The present invention pertains to an amusement facility with one or more vehicles and a catapult drive for the vehicles.
Such an amusement facility with a catapult drive has been known from FR-A 366 258. A vehicle is moved here at a high velocity along a track curved in space and shall return into the starting position at the end in free flight. The catapult drive comprises a plurality of springs, which are placed in pipes and are connected to a carrier.
A similar catapult drive with drive springs is shown in DE-C 177 794. The catapult drive acts on a rail-borne vehicle and moves same upward along an oblique ramp. The vehicle returns into the starting position on the same path. The springs are tensioned by means of a chain drive. In addition, a braking means is also present, which works against the springs at the beginning of the acceleration section and diminishes the acceleration acting on the passengers.
WO 98/45007 likewise pertains to an amusement facility, in which passenger carriers are moved to and fro on a rail track. Besides a conventional chain drive, a catapult drive, which is not described specifically and is also not shown, may be used as the drive.
Another amusement facility with a catapult drive has been known from DE-A 27 03 833. The catapult drive comprises a cable or chain guided endlessly with a connected accelerating carriage for the passenger carrier and is operated with a falling weight as a pushing drive. As an alternative to the falling weight, a stationary linear pushing drive, which may be designed as a linear motor or as a hydraulic lifting cylinder with a reduced ratio, may be used in the area of the starting section.
Finally, another catapult of the type of an ejection seat, in which the seat is pivoted by means of a pivoting lever, has been known from DE-A 44 25 107. The drive is not described specifically.
Another amusement facility in the manner of a roller coaster has been known from DE-A 28 32 991 and DE-U 298 22 644. Immediately after leaving the boarding point, the vehicles are towed with a drive means, which is designed as an endless chain drive, to the highest elevation of the roller coaster over an ascending section and are released there. The chain drive is relatively slow and it pulls the vehicle leisurely upward.
In chain mechanisms, the towing force is transmitted via a sprocket wheel engaging the chain in a positive-locking manner. The polygon effect generated in the process leads to high stresses and to noise. In addition, lubrication of the chain is necessary, which leads to problems with dripping and to difficulties in disposal. Due to the heavy weight, the field of use is limited to short distances and to low velocities in the range of up to about 5 m/sec. The endless chain drives have carriers, which engage the vehicles of the amusement facility.
The object of the present invention is to improve the prior-art amusement facility.
This object is accomplished by the present invention with an amusement facility with one or more vehicles and a drive means for the vehicles wherein the drive means is designed as a catapult drive. The catapult drive has one or more hydromotors.
The drive means is designed in the amusement facility as a catapult drive, which drives one or more vehicles at a high acceleration and velocity from standing or slow travel and launches them preferably into a free travel section. This high initial acceleration and velocity offers a new attraction and experience for roller coasters, but also for other types of rides.
Extremely high driving forces or driving torques can thus be transmitted and high accelerations can be reached, so that the vehicles can reach velocities in excess of 50 m/sec and accelerations exceeding 2 g within a few seconds. The moving masses of the vehicle and the passengers may vary between a few hundred kg and several tons.
The catapult drive is suitable for all types of amusement facilities. Special advantages arise for roller coasters and other similar types of rides.
Hydromotors are used as drive motors. They have the advantage that they are able to make available the enormous accelerating energy of several MW, which is necessary for a short time. The accelerating energy can, furthermore, be buffered between the starts taking place at regular intervals by means of storage units. Contrary to direct drives, the installed power can thus be drastically reduced. In addition, the hydromotor has the advantage of having an especially small size and small inertia of masses. Moreover, it is far superior to a pneumatic drive in terms of efficiency, energy loss and noise emission.
The catapult drive may be designed as an endless drive or as a winding or winch drive. A winding drive has some special advantages. Due to the positive-locking connection of the drive or winding drum to the pulling means, friction effects and friction dependencies can be eliminated. The wrapping angle and the pretensioning forces can be lower than in the case of a friction drive, and the pulling means, preferably one or more pulling cables, are also spared more and last longer. A multiple cable arrangement makes it possible for the individual pulling cables to have a smaller cross section. This results in a smaller drum diameter, which further increases the effectiveness of the catapult drive.
It is, furthermore, recommended that a carrying means and especially a towing car, which engages the vehicle to be accelerated with a movable carrier hook, be fastened to the pulling means. The preferred embodiment offers special advantages in terms of a simple design and operational safety.
The pulling means may have different designs. Instead of a chain, it is possible to use a cable or belt, which are better suited for the extremely high accelerations and velocities as well as the loads resulting therefrom. A multiple cable arrangement or a broad-area pulling means, which preferably comprises a plurality of cable strands located in parallel next to one another and are optionally connected to one another, or a belt, is advantageous, but another design is also possible as an alternative. The pulling means comprises a material suitable for the high load.
The pulling means has the advantage over a chain in that the need for lubrication can be eliminated, as a result of which the towing forces can be transmitted with a correspondingly higher coefficient of friction in the case of a friction drive. This leads, furthermore, to a substantial reduction in the pretensioning force. In addition, the pulling means can pass over one or more drive and deflecting rollers without a substantial reduction of the service life.
The pulling means has, furthermore, the advantage of having a lower price, lower noise emission, lower weight as well as lower inertia of masses. The handling and maintenance are facilitated and improved. Favorable effects are also obtained for disposal and environmental friendliness. Furthermore, the small possible bending radius, the high fatigue strength under reversed bending stresses and the high reliability of operation are advantages as well.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.